Give asylum now to the tens of thousands of Iraqi minorities fleeing genocide

The Islamic State’s (formerly Isis) persecution of Iraqi Christians, Yazidi and other communities has forced tens of thousands of men, women and children to flee for their lives into the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq.

The speed of the militants advance has been described as unprecedented, with thousands of families entering Kurdistan with only the clothes on their backs in the last 48 hours.

It is estimated that at least 100,000 Christians abandoned their villages in the Nineveh plains earlier this week, walking on foot in the searing Iraq heat towards Kurdistan.

Tens of thousands of refugees from the Yazidi minority community have fled into the mountains near Sinjar, where they are surrounded by militants. Plans were under way to create a "safe corridor" for their escape.